The Fish Tank : Jagath Dheerasekara - Opening event

Come join us for the opening of the 2026 MAP mima Summer Commission Exhibition The Summer Commission at MAP mima is an annual invitation extended to an artist or collective to create a new work specifically for the 360-degree projection cube. This commission encourages fresh perspectives and bold experimentation, providing a unique opportunity for artists to explore the possibilities of scale, movement, and immersion. For 2026, the commission has been awarded to multidisciplinary artist Jagath Dheerasekara, whose new work The Fish Tank transforms the Cube into a charged space of observation, containment and reflection. The Fish Tank Presented as a single-channel animated work, The Fish Tank draws on the familiar image of market fish tanks, where living creatures drift in suspension, awaiting a fate beyond their control. Beneath the calm surface and colourful vibrancy, the tank becomes, for Dheerasekara, an unsettling space of watching, waiting, confinement and violence. The captive fish echo human experiences of detention, torture and state control. Rooted in personal and collective memories of Sri Lanka, the work moves beyond autobiography, bringing the particular into dialogue with the universal. It asks what becomes of dignity when lives are wounded, confined, observed and rendered powerless, while opening a broader conversation about imagining life otherwise. Jagath Dheerasekara is an artist whose practice engages with colonisation, displacement and the fragility of the principles of humanity. Born in Sri Lanka, he went into exile in the early 1990s following his political and human rights activism during the 1987–90 southern uprising. He settled in Australia with his family in 2008. About the Summer Commission Conceived as a platform for artistic innovation, the Summer Commission supports the expansion of creative practice into a fully enveloping environment, where the pavilion’s interior walls become a living canvas of light, sound, and motion. Artists are encouraged to experiment with materials, media, and spatial storytelling, challenging conventional ways of engaging audiences and rethinking how art can inhabit and transform a space. Beyond the creation of a singular work, the commission fosters dialogue between the artist, the public, and the broader creative community, highlighting MAP mima’s commitment to supporting emerging and established artists in the Lake Macquarie and Hunter regions. The result is a spectacular, immersive experience that not only showcases individual artistic vision but also redefines the boundaries of contemporary exhibition practice.